Separate Ways
by Miraclesnow
Summary: Slight AU after losing the prison in season 4. Beth goes off on her own the escape the prison, but soon discovers she isn't safe. As Daryl goes on his way to fight his own battle of being alone, will their paths cross after the family they loved and the home they had is taken from them?


Running seemed to be the only option now that Beth had started to realize the damage the prison was in. What had once been only the ominous warnings of a fight to come- the shining of steel and the ceremony of the Governor's return- now consumed her sight.

Beth could remember her squinted gaze at the Governor- the tank and the packed cars around it. It had seemed too calm, those seconds of quiet as they'd been seen approaching. It had gotten loud all too quickly after. The massive gaps in their home's fences and the ear-splitting cries of the tank had brought forth the walkers from all of the forest from then to now. She had only been gone to help the kids to escape, how had their sanctuary been ripped out from under the so easily? Smears of blood coated concrete as she stopped to gaze out at the lawn. No walkers had gotten as far up as where she was. But they were coming.

The blonde realized she was close to hyperventilating as she gazed out at the hordes. Most of the gunshots had ceased- had the bus escaped? Her mind had too many thoughts trapped inside for her to think properly. Even as Beth took these extra seconds to search for anyone at the inner fence of the prison, she knew that she had to go- this place wasn't safe. Not like it had been. It was the rapid beating of her heart that warned her, each thump of blood pumping into her system and every nerve of her body telling her feet to move. She shouldn't-no, couldn't be able to see what her father had become. There was no reason to stay.

A split second later, she was up and running- no rhyme or reason to the direction she picked. Just away from the moans of hundreds of the dead now walking, her gun aloft in her clammy hands as she raced out. Trees swept by her vision, and she ran as fast as the adrenaline was urging her to go. Even though she felt like she should be crying, her vision was impeccably clear. 'Shock' her mind supplied to her, and all Beth could do was race father and father away from the deathtrap that was now a claimed place of the dead.

There was only three bullets left in her spare pistol- or no, maybe it was four? Beth had run for as long as she could, until she was deep in the forests of Georgia. The humidity was already turning her breath into pants as she tried to keep her breathing even. There was no sign of movement around her, so her feet began to drag against the underbrush until she had stopped. The slow, rasping sound of her breathing would have been a dead giveaway to walkers nearby, but there wasn't even a groan to warn her. Wide, blue eyes were on the lookout for anything. But there was only trees, and she could only hear her own heartbeat and feel the burn of her lungs.

It was then when Beth Greene finally realized she was alone. For the first time in her life, there was no living beings around her. No one to protect her, tell her where to go. What was she supposed to do?

Her legs were easy to fold from under her, so Beth gave in to falling down to her knees. Another realization came to her: She couldn't make it much farther. Not the broken, panting mess that the girl was. Nothing else to do but continue walking until she found somewhere to hide. Not to think or to even eat, to hide; because deep within her swirling thoughts she knew there was no certainty of having any of this.

There was no certainty of anything, she knew. This seemed to harden her, and she silently resolved: She would live. She hadn't seen any bodies, and when the children had all hopped onto the bus, there were still adults who could have driven them away to safety. Her family, Maggie, even Glenn, must have made it. So, with aching muscles, Beth pulled herself up, and opened up the magazine of her gun. "Four bullets." Four chances of a quick escape, as long as she used them wisely. Though Beth's body was oddly shaking, she took in a breath of the humid air, and telling herself she should look for shelter, her gun was carefully put back together. Focusing on the thing that would keep her breathing was what would keep her going. Anything else would only hinder her for the time being.

A cabin was what became her lifeline for the first night. She'd only been able to spy it because of a trapped walker gurgling at the doorstep, the top half of its body twisted off from the mass of decomposing flesh that was its legs. Most of it hair and skin was sagging or off, and Beth was able to crush its head in without much difficulty. She would have been disgusted if she had given herself more time to think, but that wasn't a possibility or else she would break down. Testing the door, she let out a baited breath as it opened with ease. "Hello?" The silence was still an unnerving factor of being alone, but in this case it meant she was safe. Once she took her first step in, the creaking floorboards underneath her made her jump out of her skin. Any noise in this place was scaring the dickens out of her. "It's only for tonight… I can make it." At least it looked safe. With a silent push to close the door, she went through a dim hallway to make it inside. She very quickly found the kitchen and looked for remnants of food, knowing her shaking body needed something to eat. Each pull or squeak of a drawer provided her only the bare wood hidden inside. But this was only the start of her search.

More inspections of the house gave her the most hope for her future: A black pack hidden under a bed in the next room. Her vision was slowly being consumed by the darkness outside, but thin veins of moonlight etched across the room as she dug through the contents of her precious treasure. The bag contained several cans of beans, granola bars, and a flint and tinder. Her fingers scraped across the straps, and with a sinking feeling in her gut, she felt her fingers scrape against something brittle. Reaching her hand closer to her face, she could see dried blood in her fingernails. Beth's throat began to feel dry, and she gulped. Remembering how decomposed the walker outside had been, it wouldn't have been the owner of this. The person hadn't come back for their things, meaning this place wasn't as safe as she originally thought. But there was nothing to do, Beth was exhausted and she urgently needed to forget what had happened this day, if only for a few hours. She only knows that she can try to sleep, or try and face a night full of only her own thoughts for company. So after closing the curtains as best as she can, her body numbly curls into the bed. Registering that she should be careful and start the search to find her sister- her family tomorrow, her eyes shut with a decisive snap, and she is dead to the world.

At least, until she starts to dream.


End file.
